The 2017 NFL season is officially over, now see where the Carolina Panthers rank for next year…

Carolina Panthers fans got to see first hand the competitiveness of Super Bowl combatants Philadelphia and New England this season. The Panthers traveled to Foxboro and took down quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots before losing to Philadelphia, at home, just two weeks later.

While it was early in the season, all three displayed characteristics of playoff teams and each was eventually awarded a berth. Combined, they all went 37-11 during the regular season but the Panthers were eliminated in the wild-card round to divisional rival New Orleans.

Despite not ever recording back-to-back winning seasons in franchise history, many are expecting big things from the Panthers in the coming year. Knowing their veteran core is beginning to dissipate, with the recent retirement announcements of Thomas Davis and Ryan Kalil, the window of opportunity for Carolina is closing fast.

ESPN power rankings used their team to develop the projections for 2018 and there are both positives and negatives for the Panthers. Despite earning an overall ranking at No. 10 in the league, Carolina is far from the highest NFC South team...